The 10 Best Commercial Design Tips To Help Your Business Stand Out

At a time where innovate and creative designs are taking over bars, restaurants and offices, it has never been more important for your business to stand out from the crowd. An original, exciting and beautifully designed commercial building can generate buzz around your business, attract the best possible candidates and provide your staff with a warm, relaxing and enjoyable place to work. Not only this but an intelligently designed commercial building can provide an edge over the competition and propel a business to the top of their industry.

The actual style and design of bars, restaurants and offices has become so important recently that there has been a noticeable rise in architect, design and interior design companies all over the world. This increase has been great for the commercial design industry as more and more people are creating new, ingenious designs that are fresh, stylish and unconventional. However, the rise in innovative designs has brought with it an added pressure for businesses to create a space that’s new, trendy and bold.

To help with this pressure, we thought we would share some of the best commercial design tips that are sure to help your business stand out. We will talk about what you can do and how you can save money whilst doing it. As well as sharing our own expert tips, we have also reached out to some of the biggest commercial designers around the world and asked for their tips.

Nobody uses colour like commercial designers. This is because they understand the psychological power that colours have and use these to help a business ensure their customers/team are happy, relaxed and eager to come back. This is especially important in retail interior design. The psychology of colour and the way that humans will interact with surroundings based on a colour palette is something that people have been studying for years. Scientists have looked at how we interact with different colours and what emotions they evoke. For example, potential customers will make a subconscious judgement about a shop or bar within 90 seconds of entering it, and 62% - 90% of these first impressions are based on colour. As well as this, 85% of customers say colour is the primary reason for purchasing a product.

With colour being such an important part of any design, it’s crucial to get this part right. Depending on the type of building you are working on will determine the type of colour you want to use. For example, if you are looking to design a new office space then blue might be a good choice as it’s known to stimulate the mind. Calming shades of pale blue, grey and white will not only look great but also keep the team relaxed, focused and stimulated. However, if you are designing a new restaurant then you might want go for something more warm, such as reds, yellows and oranges as these have the most impact on increasing a person’s appetite. However, it’s worth knowing that not all shades of these colours are good for restaurants. Stay away from bright, vibrant tones. Instead, try muted, earth tones as these usually work best in a restaurant.

Design trends are constantly changing and evolving but there are a few big trends that have made a mark this year and look set to be here for a while. When it comes to commercial design, it’s important to capture a trend that will still look good in years to come instead of what is just ‘hot’ right now. As mindfulness becomes more well known and much more popular, many bars and restaurants are using this within their design through the beautiful simplicity of Scandinavian style. This design style is one that focuses on minimalism through rustic yet modern furniture and simplistic layouts. Less is definitely more when it comes to this way of designing and has been proven to have a calming impact on people’s demeanour.

Another big trend that looks to be here for years to come is the vintage look. By investing in a style that harnesses the natural beauty of warm, wooden and often repurposed furniture you can create a timeless style that will still look great in the future. Although this can be an expensive design style, you can save a lot of money through using high pressure laminate or melamine boardinstead of real wood. Thanks to advancements in technology high pressure laminate and melamine board both look and feel just like the real thing.

This is more important for an office environment but still worth considering if you are designing restaurant or shop. Creating a space where the staff and customers are happy and relaxed in is incredibly important. Incorporating this practice into your commercial design will not only improve the general mood of the staff but also increase the chance of customers coming back to shop. Look to add calming tones, simple yet comfortable furniture and natural light to help improve the mood everyone in the room.

Whether you are looking to create a new office space, bar or clothing store, one of the first things you should always consider is the culture. Think about the culture of your company. What kind of personality does your company have? What kind of values do you want to convey? First impressions are everything so make sure your design clearly conveys a good, positive and happy culture, for both your team and the general public.

Not only should you think of the culture of your company, but also consider the culture of the area in which your business will be located. Consider what type of interior and exterior design is popular within the area. You want to stand out, yes, but you don’t want to stand out like a sore thumb. Consider a bold colour scheme, but not a loud and aggressive one as this may offend or annoy the local community.

Lighting, like colour, has a direct impact on our mood. 80% of the sensory information that our brains receive comes from our eyes so it’s important to get the lighting right! Good lighting can highlight architectural elements, product qualities and even help create illusions of space. It can directly impact how we feel about a product or environment and ultimately decide whether or not we would buy an item or spend time there. There are many lighting techniques to help your business stand out, some of the best are:

Ambient lighting – When it comes to retail design, this lighting is perfect as it ensures customers have enough general lighting to feel comfortable in the store.

Task lighting – This is a more focused technique in retail, it is used in areas of a store where more light is needed to perform certain tasks, such as in changing rooms or checkout areas.

Accent lighting - This technique is used to emphasise a certain display or area within a store, to attract a customer’s eye; this could be a piece of artwork, jewellery within cases or a shelving display.

Decorative lighting – This is mainly used to add to the look and feel of the store with a decorative fixture.

Remember to light your unique selling points, such as a creative window display or stylish store layout. Keep your lighting as energy efficient as possible too, not only to keep costs down but also to give off the right image for your company.

When it comes to materials for interior and exterior design it’s important not skimp on quality. Cheap and poorly sourced materials can ruin the style of any shop, bar or restaurant, no matter how well it was designed. However, if you choose right you can have the best of both worlds. Some designers make the mistake of going with real wood or real marble for their designs, but this can often break the bank! To avoid this and still get the same look it’s worth investing in high pressure laminate or melamine board. These high quality materials have incredible strength, durability and versatility. They are popular with high-end designers and architects as they perfectly mimic the real thing but are cheaper and easier to work with. People can very rarely tell the difference between high pressure laminates / melamine board and the real thing, making these materials ideal for achieving fantastic and bold commercial designs.

A large design trend that has grown in popularity recently and will continue to do so is the simple yet effective use of symmetry. Due to the boom in social media, it’s never been more important to ensure your commercial space is ‘Instagram worthy’. Symmetry is just as important for the exterior as it is in the interior. For the best chance of your building to trend on Instagram and Twitter use symmetry to ensure your space not only looks great on photos, but is also easily photographed. If people can take great looking photos of your bar, restaurant or office easily then more and more people will start sharing these online, thus creating a social buzz around your space.

Open plan environments create space, breathing room and a sense of calm, all of which are important when it comes to commercial design. By incorporating an open plan flow to your commercial space you can bring a contemporary feel to the room that brings with it style, serenity and space. The more room you can create the better as this will provide you with the opportunity to focus on your design elements and products.

Large open plan offices instantly contribute a healthy and relaxed working environment, one that people will want to work in. If you look into ‘the best offices in London and New York’ you will notice how so many of them boast big, open spaces. However, if your commercial building is on the smaller side then are still things you can do to ensure it stands out with an open plan feel. Look into how best to declutter the office and incorporate the Scandinavian style to create an office that is small but not cramped.

Make it Eco-Friendly

Keeping your commercial design eco-friendly will show potential customers and staff that you care about the environment and that you’re trying to make a difference. This positive approach to design can really help your business to stand out as going green has become more and more important recently.

There are many ways in which you can be eco-friendly when designing a new build without simply adding a solar panel roof or triple glazing windows. One of the best ways of to do this, while also adding a new interior element to your design, is by investing in repurposed furniture. By keeping with the rustic and retro style you can add character, charm and an authentic vintage feel through repurposed furnishings. It’s also worth including plants to help oxygenate the room, use LED light bulbs and cut out plastic where you can. All of these things will not only help you save money but will also help show your brand in a positive light, one that people will be happy to talk about.

When it comes to interior design the little touches can make a big difference. Often a basic design is transformed by adding in little extras, such as repurposed furniture, quirky lighting and subtle artwork. Sometimes all it takes to get your office, bar or restaurant to trend on social media is something small and unique, so never underestimate the power of the smaller things. For example, there is a bar, located in Manchester, called Alberts Schloss which is famous for its small indoor fit pit and a restaurant, located in London, called The Magic Roundabout famous for pastel coloured walls and geometric seating.

Take time to consider the small furnishings and don’t be afraid to include quirky elements, this can sometimes be the difference between being a popular business and a famous business.

To make your business stand out don’t be afraid to be bold, be creative, think about your staff, save money with laminates, maximise natural light and don’t underestimate the power of social media. If you follow these tips and remember the advice the experts have provided then we are sure your business will not only meet people’s expectations but completely surpass them.